A long, calm melody over gently rippling left-hand chords: Liszt at his quietest.
The story
Liszt was famous as the most dazzling virtuoso of his age, but the six Consolations, published in 1850, are quiet and inward.
The third is the best known: a melody that seems to sing without stopping, over a left hand that rolls gently up and down.
Two things to know
- The marking is Lento placido: slow and calm.
- Its long melody is often compared to Chopin’s nocturnes, which Liszt admired.
How to play it
Keep the left hand very even and soft, and use the pedal to join its notes into one wash of sound.